Lung cancer NI's biggest killer

The UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) has said the disease is responsible for more than one in four deaths with around 2,000 people in the region living with the condition.There is also a one in 10 chance a patient will be alive five years after diagnosis, which is among the poorest rate in Europe.The group also said there were a higher proportion of deaths in Belfast - 58 per 100,000 - compared to the national average of 40 per 100,000.The UKLCC has said more needs to be done to educate people, including specific messages in awareness campaigns, on the early signs of the condition to help improve survival rates.Dr Wendy Anderson from the UKLCC said: "Despite a decline in the number of deaths from lung cancer over the last 20 years, outcomes for lung cancer patients remain poor in Northern Ireland compared to other European countries."As a result, more should be done to alert people to the signs and symptoms of this devastating disease in order to ensure earlier diagnosis and increase chances of survival."She added: "We know if we apply the best standards of care already being demonstrated in some parts of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and if we diagnose people earlier, we can double one-year and five-year lung cancer survival rates."